Theme

The next topic is all about the Ornate & Ornamental in aquatic species. This can include any marine animal or aquatic species that has ornate markings or characteristics, or adorns itself with things, or inhabits an ornate home, shell or den, or has ornate patterns of sunlight spilling down on it. Think ornate nudibranchs, ruffly sea slugs, anemones, ornate crustaceans (e.g. peacock mantis shrimp, decorator crabs, harlequin shrimp, hingebeak shrimp, sexy shrimp), ornate fish (e.g. leafy seadragon, pipefish, ornate wrasse, parrotfish, mandarinfish, Bangaii cardinalfish, fairy basselet, pompadour discus, moray eels, harlequin sweetlips, flying gurnard), sharks (e.g. wobbegong, carpet sharks, ornate/spotted eagle ray), flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, upside-down jellyfish, starfish, featherstars, feather duster, corals (e.g. scroll, cabbage, pulsating, flower) or ornate patterns of sunlight on the skin of sharks, dolphins, whales and other marine mammals... in short, anything ornate, ornamental, intricate, harlequin-like, ruffly, lacy, fancy, feathery, fairy, flashy or flamboyant.

Materials

Please submit 3 to 4 images (unpublished only, online or in print) and 150 to 250 (max.) words of text, plus captions for each image (including location, species, specs: ISO, f/stop, speed; and camera gear used: brand/model of camera, lens, housing, strobes, etc.).

Images should be a selection of 4 different species, limiting wreck shots to only one, so that there are not too many similar images in the feature. 

The text should include why the selected images were chosen, how and/or why the species/image is ornate or ornamental, how you got the shots and where they were taken (dive site, location, conditions), special equipment or techniques used, and any anecdotes or memorable interactions that happened. Please include a list of links to any outside sources, books, references or online sources used for facts in the text, as well as a link to your online image gallery, which will be placed at the end of the text. Please include the name of your dive or photo club, or your state/country.

New to writing for a dive magazine? Please watch the informative video by Editor-in-Chief Peter Symes.

Deadline

27 September 2024

Submission format

TEXT: Please download and type your text, captions and content release into this Word doc.

IMAGES: Image files must be at least 144dpi RGB jpegs, 2500 pixels on the longest edge. Only the best photos will be considered, which are clean, corrected, in focus, and without watermarks or hot spots. Please do not over-sharpen.

Submission

Submit all files via Dropbox, WeTransfer, or Google Drive and send to: gunild@xray-mag.com.

Notification

By 4 October 2024.

Due to the large number of emails we receive, only the photographers of the photos selected for the feature article will be contacted via email. However, we wish to thank everyone in advance who submits materials and encourage everyone to continue shooting underwater images and to participate in future topics.